Introduction

Located in Gould Township, the tiny hamlet of Hooverville was once a busy lumber depot, but today its remnants rest below the calm waters of the artificially-created Tunnel Lake. Tunnel Lake, ironically, was made to bring electricity and prosperity to the area, yet it destroyed and disbanded this small community.

Hooverville's main function was as a depot for the lumber companies. It was built by foreman Ed Hoover, hence the name Hoover Depot (and later Hooverville). The Cook brothers had been logging in Gould Township as early as 1873. In its later days, the depot was owned by the McFadden lumber company. Trucks taking supplies north would be weighed there. Also, it was an overnight stop (halfway point) on the way to the camps further up the Mississagi. This was necessary when horses were taken as a herd up to the camps. In the early forties the McFadden Lumber Company began to truck the horses up so that Hoover Depot was no longer needed as a halfway point. However, all vehicles still had to stop at the gate in Hooverville to obtain a permit to travel north on the McFadden Lumber Company road.

Settlement of Gould Township

Hoover Depot was constructed in the early part of the century, but there was activity in Gould township prior to this. In the autumn of 1886, two families arrived at Franklin Lake (in Gould Township) from Dundalk, Ontario. Winter set in earlier than usual, so the families made a shelter much like a root house in which to live until spring. When the snow finally melted, both families moved slightly southward to the settlement of Wharncliffe.

In 1915 the only two people living in Gould Township were two brothers from Chicago. Others came and went from the area, looking into some of the 'interesting rock' that had been found there. A few small mines were opened early in the century, providing some employment for local residents. None of the mines are active today.

The Cheney Mining Company had a copper mine in Gould township around 1910, near the whirlpool at Grand Falls, on the Mississagi River. It was closed because of uncontrollable flooding in the lower mine shaft.

The Robert Kinney family was the first to establish a farm in Gould, where the road continued north to the Cheney mine. In about 1922 Arthur Clinton moved his family to Gould.

Gould School

Gould had no school for many years, despite the fact that there were many settlers who had children. Some children were sent to live with friends or relatives in Kynoch, Wharncliffe, or Thessalon. Others walked the five or six miles to Wharncliffe whenever possible, to go to school . In the 1930's a school was finally built in Gould, though it was also used for church services, dances, concerts, suppers, Women's Institute functions and school board meetings. Living quarters were added on to house a teacher and her family. The school was closed in 1947, and its contents were moved to the church in Wharncliffe.